after introducing duckweek into my tank i discovered little spiralling worms are they harmful

what should i do:mad:

reddhawkk

08-08-2012 10:44 PM

Where did the duckweed come from? Was it a source from outside, like a pond? If so, they could be mosquito larvae which fish really like.

jakevwapp84

08-08-2012 11:03 PM

the duckweed is from an aquarium but the worms dont look like larvea and they keep spinning around what else could they be

radioman

08-08-2012 11:07 PM

A picture would help. Possibly nematodes.

jakevwapp84

08-08-2012 11:33 PM

there to small for a picture but are nematodes harmful

sphack

08-08-2012 11:40 PM

I found my tank also got small little white worms, about the diameter of a hair and up to 1/2" long. They would attempt to swim like little white snakes. Once the fish noticed them, they eat them right up. Now, the fish almost fight over them. I've seen fish sprint 6" inches to eat one of these guys.

So, do fish eat the worms?

radioman

08-08-2012 11:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jakevwapp84
(Post 1972312)

there to small for a picture but are nematodes harmful

There are harmless ones and parasitic species. If they aren't going after fish then you probably have the harmless ones.

jakevwapp84

08-09-2012 12:06 AM

i only have CRS in my tank

Complexity

08-09-2012 01:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jakevwapp84
(Post 1972243)

little spiralling worms

This could describe any number of worms. It's kind of like saying you found a little shrimp or a little fish. If you can't take a picture of them, then it would be helpful if you could give a detailed description of them. What color are they? How big are they? Where are they in the tank? How do they appear to move? Do they "inch" around like an inchworm or wiggle or what? Get a magnifying glass to look at them up close to get a better view of their body shape. Are they flat or round? What's their tail look like? Their head?

The better you can describe them, the better chance you have of getting help. Otherwise, the best anyone can do is throw out the names of a bunch of different worms, and you'll have to look them all up to figure out if any might match what you have if you.

Deathuall

08-09-2012 07:55 AM

I CALL EARTHWORM! haha, maybe its Planaria?

somewhatshocked

08-09-2012 12:40 PM

They're likely harmless nematodes if they're swimming like that. They're common in new tank setups.

Judging by this thread, you only started your tank a couple weeks ago.

Since you brought up having CRS in your tank, here's hoping you have actually allowed it to cycle.

HD Blazingwolf

08-09-2012 02:33 PM

it sounds like the tiny nematodes i got with floating plants or dry'd flake food that sometimes survive as cysts in. the heplessly wiggle i nthe water column searching for a dark place. and a realllllyyy small baby tetra in there that isn't big enough to eat shrimp and watch it FEAST on the little things. they are otherwise harmless